US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Wednesday said that while he believes China has not yet decided whether to invade Taiwan, its military exercises suggest such an intent.
“We don’t believe they’ve [China] made that decision yet, but certainly if you look at their exercises that they’re performing in that area, they look a lot like ... what that would look like,” Hegseth said.
He was responding to a question from US Senator Lindsey Graham during a US Senate Committee on Appropriations hearing on the US Department of Defense’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year.
Photo: Getty Images via AFP
Graham asked Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Dan Caine, who testified alongside Hegseth, whether he thinks China intends to take Taiwan by force.
“I think if they could get their way, for sure. Do I think they’re going to use military capability? Maybe, maybe not. Do we need to be prepared for that? Yes,” Caine said.
In response, Graham called for deterrence measures and increased defense spending, saying that inaction could embolden adversaries such as China, Iran and Russia.
“Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, because they’ll use it. They’re homicidal maniacs who are religious Nazis. China is an expansionist power who will take Taiwan if we don’t deter them. Russia will dismember Ukraine and keep going if we don’t stop them,” he said.
Meanwhile, Japan this week confirmed that two Chinese aircraft were spotted conducting simultaneous operations in the Pacific for the first time.
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy on Tuesday said that the carrier operations were a “routine training” exercise and did not target specific countries or regions.
China operates two carriers, with a third undergoing sea trials, and it has been honing its abilities to operate further from its coast.
Taiwan keeps a close eye on Chinese military movements, given the regular drills and war games Beijing stages around the nation, and has been modernizing its weapons. However, Taipei has complained of delivery delays of the 66 Lockheed Martin F-16V jets it purchased from Washington, which have advanced avionics, weapons and radar systems.
Representative to the US Alexander Yui (俞大?) called on the US Congress to fast-track foreign military sales and urged the US Senate to ease tax burdens between the two countries, Fox News reported on Wednesday.
Following a closed-door lunch at the US House of Representatives that day, Yui said that he is encouraged that US leaders recognize the urgent existential threat China poses.
However, weapons need to reach the military faster and issues impeding bilateral investment must be addressed, he said.
“We appreciate the US prioritizing Taiwan and helping us strengthen our defense capabilities,” Yui was quoted as saying. “We are cheering on more military commitments to the states and [a] joint effort to speed up the delivery of the products that we bought.”
Yui also called on the US Senate to advance a stalled double taxation agreement, which has cleared the US House of Representatives, Fox News said.
Asked about China’s posture in the Taiwan Strait and across the Indo-Pacific region, Yui said: “We are concerned.”
“The [Chinese People’s Liberation] Army and Navy are increasing their activities around Taiwan, harassing our territorial waters and airspace. These provocations are constant,” he said.
Air Force Chief of Staff Lee Ching-jan (李慶然) on Wednesday told lawmakers that a dozen or so Lockheed Martin F-16Vs should arrive this year, with the remainder to follow next year.
“The US side was optimistic about next year’s scheduled delivery at last month’s meeting on the project, and was very optimistic about the delivery of more than 10 aircraft this year,” he said.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
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